Demands for printing on packages, textiles, and product decorations have been escalating. Inkjet printing is more advantageous than engraved-block printing in that it is capable of handling small lot production and achieving shorter lead time. For this reason, the inkjet printing has been considered as a printing technique for packages, textiles, and product decorations.
An inkjet printing machine is furnished with an actuator for ejecting ink. The actuator employs, as a drive means, a piezoelectric element in which electrodes are disposed on both major surfaces of a piezoelectric film mainly containing lead zirconate titanate.
Printing objects, such as packages, textiles, and product decorations have a less flat printing surface than printing objects, such as printing paper. Moreover, for printing objects, such as packages, textiles, and product decorations, more varieties of inks are required than for printing objects such as printing paper.
For this reason, the piezoelectric element requires higher piezoelectric performance so that the printing objects with non-flat printing surfaces can be printed at high speed and high resolution using various types of inks. A conventional technique for increasing the piezoelectric constant of lead zirconate titanate is the technique in which the piezoelectric film is made to have (001) preferential orientation and also lead zirconate titanate is doped with niobium in an amount of 10 mole % to 40 mole %.
PTLs 1 to 6 disclose conventional techniques in the above-described field.